Welcome to the Farewell to Finder’s Fest geo-art, brought to you by the Forest Minions! This series celebrates weird and unusual things throughout the Sunshine State. Please do not go to the posted locations. Rather, solve the challenging quiz found at the bottom of each page, for the final location. For the letterbox caches, please leave the stamp in the cache. They are not trade items. For the discerning traveler, we’ve included the GPS coordinates for these bizarre locations, when we were able to establish them.
Cassadaga – Location 28.9652, -81.2361
The quaint town of Cassadaga sits just off bustling Interstate-four in Volusia County, yet it is one of the most peaceful places in Central Florida. To visit this hamlet is like taking a trip back in time, but what makes Cassadaga unusual, is that every resident is a medium, that’s right, they commune with dearly departed souls. Spiritualism is the main industry here, aside from a couple of New Age bookstores, a café, hotel, and post office.
Cassadaga’s history actually began in 1875, during a late summer séance in Lake Mills, Iowa. It was here that George Colby, a 27-year old medium, received a message from an Indian spirit named Seneca. Colby said that his spirit guide, Seneca, instructed him to immediately leave Iowa and make contact with T. D. Giddings, a medium in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The two men, according to Colby’s account, were to conduct another séance through which Seneca would spiritually commune with them. The two mediums complied with their spiritual orders and while in a trance-like state, were told by Seneca that, “A congress of spirits had selected Florida for the establishment of a great spiritualist center, and that Colby had been chosen to lead in its creation.” In a series of spiritual sessions that followed, Colby continued receiving directions from his spirit guide, Seneca. He was told that the proposed location of this new spiritual center would be “…near Blue Springs, Florida, on high pine hills overlooking a chain of silvery lakes.”
Here is the super duper, way challenging, really hard trivia question, which, if solved properly, will lead you to the final coordinates:
Question: What activity is prohibited by law, in French vineyards?
A: Disco dancing = N29° 28.751' W81° 51.624'
B: Porcupine juggling = N29° 28.751' W81° 51.614'
C: Landing a UFO = N29° 28.751' W81° 51.604'